Vaccinated Israelis Granted Permission to Enter Croatia and not Isolate

On the morning of Sunday, Croatia made an announcement, which came as good news for the citizens of Israel. As per their new policy, Israelis will be allowed to enter the country without having to undergo isolation or coronavirus testing. However, this ease is only going to be provided to those who have been vaccinated against the novel coronavirus. 

Soon after this announcement was made by Croatia, the State of Israel revealed that come Thursday, Israir will be operating two flights in a week to the destination. Each Monday and Thursday, flights will from Israel will land in Croatia, as per the approvals received. Tickets have been priced at $299 per person as of now. 

Following Croatia’s declaration to allow Israelis into the country, it has been added to the list of tourist destinations that are open to the citizens of the State of Israel. This list includes Dubai, Georgia, Montenegro, Greece, and Cyprus. However, Greece will open its doors to Israel from the 14th of April onwards. 

According to the VP of Marketing and Sales at Israir, Gil Satyu, Croatia is a destination that is well-liked by the citizens and residents of Israel. He expressed happiness at the fact that people will now be able to freely travel to the country. 

Moreover, he stated that Israelis are looking forward to the reopening of additional tourist destinations, which will allow them to go on vacation without adhering to a long list of coronavirus guidelines and quarantine obligations. As per the VP, the relevant authorities are also searching for solutions that will allow them to increase the number of flights taking off from Ben-Gurion Airport. 

In other news, a study was conducted by the Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, as well as the Bnai Zion Hospital located in Haifa. The results of this research showed that individuals who are undergoing treatment for cancer will not develop any severe side effects against the coronavirus if they have been vaccinated against it. 

At first, it was believed that cancer patients taking any kind of anticancer drugs have an additional 40% chance of dying from the disease, as compared to non-cancer patients. This was indicated by multiple studies. Therefore, the Health Ministry in Israel prioritized the inoculation of these patients when it first started its vaccination campaign in the month of December. 

However, in time, some experts began to worry that cancer patients undergoing immunotherapy might experience side effects of the vaccination. Immunotherapy is a treatment that stimulates the body against tumors by strengthening the immune system. On a similar note, vaccines against the coronavirus also provide stimulation to the immune system. 

The Phase III trial of the Pfizer vaccine did not consist of any patients with cancer. The only people involved were healthy individuals or those with chronic medical conditions. 

Thus, Sourasky, along with Bnai Zion, decided to closely study the side effects of the vaccine on cancer patients. They selected 134 oncology patients, who had been given both the jabs, and compared their health to 134 healthcare workers, who were in prime condition and had been given both the doses as well. The individuals selected for this study had been given the vaccine around the same time.